JAKE VYNCKE
university of illinois -
beta pi alumnus
ABOUT ME
- sports lover
- avid traveler
- works at accenture
- lives in chicago
living
>>below the line
Three
1.2 billion people are living in extreme poverty.
these are people surviving on $1.50 (or less) a day.
$1.50 a day. let that number sink in for a moment. most of us live in a world where we mock our trivial problems with the hashtag #firstworldproblems. we can easily find $1.50 in change in our wallet or on the floor of our car, and it wouldn't even buy a plain cup of coffee at starbucks.
jake, an avid traveller and phi gamma nu member, decided to step out of his comfort zone and join over 25,000 people across the world who have taken up the challenge to 'live below the line'. as part of the challenge, participants subsist on $1.50 a day for five days. through this challenge, they have spread awareness and raised money, over $4.4 million, in support of the world's leading anti-poverty organizations.
we caught up with jake to learn what it was like to live on $1.50 a day and what drove him to participate.
PGN: how did you become intersted in the project?
JAKE: i joined a charity organization called YAO (young ambassadors of opportunity), which is the young adult arm of the organization called opportunity international. together we provides small business loans (micro loans), savings, insurance, and training to more than five million people who are working their way out of poverty. the organization serves clients in more than 20 countries and works with fundraising partners in the united states, australia, canada, germany, and the united kingdom. opportunity international was one of the sponsors of the live below the line challenge.
PGN: what motivated you to participate in this project?
JAKE: i decided to take up the challenge because many of us live in a bubble where we work our nine to five jobs. we have our routine and can easily forget what is going on in the world outside of it. even though i am living in chicago, i felt i could [somehow] connect with people a world away.
PGN: what was it like?
JAKE: in terms of staying within the budget, the experience was very challenging. i was actually very full after most of my meals, but it opened my eyes to many of the things that we think of as inexpensive and take for granted. these items are a luxury and very rewarding to the billions of people who live below the poverty line. for instance, we think it's a great deal to purchase a candy bar for 50 cents, but that is equivalent to a whole meal for some people.
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